Noble Energy said Wednesday that drilling test results in its Leviathan field off Israel's coast confirm a "significant" find of at least 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Leviathan is "easily the largest exploration discovery in our history," said Charles Davidson, chief executive officer of the Houston-based explorer with a controlling interest in the field. The other principal Leviathan partners are Israeli companies Delek Drilling, Avner Oil & Gas. and Ratio Oil Exploration.

Leviathan is almost double the size of the Tamar field off Israel's Mediterranean coast discovered in 2009 by Noble and its partners.

"The Leviathan discovery has further confirmed our geologic models and interpretation of this basin, and validates that it contains significant natural gas resources," the statement said.

The Leviathan field is estimated to cover about 125 square miles, and will require two or more appraisal wells to better estimate its total gas reserves, Noble said.